How to see audio messages on iphone

Ever get sent a lengthy audio message to your iPhone and while you’re listening to it, the screen turns off and the voice audio message is interrupted, forcing you go to re-listen to the entire thing again? That’s annoying, right?

The next time you get sent a long audio message to your iPhone, use this handy trick and you’ll find it much easier to listen to the audio message, and to scrub around within the audio message too, thanks to a little known feature that allows you to access a dedicated audio message player, directly within the Messages app.

How to Access Audio/Voice Message Player in Messages on iPhone

This is a great trick if you frequently use the audio messages feature:

1. Open the Messages chat with a received audio message
2. Tap and hold on the audio message you want to listen to

3. When the Quick Look screen pops up, tap that again to open a dedicated audio player for the audio message
4. You can now listen to the audio message in this audio player, and scrub around using the scrubber on the bottom of the audio message player

5. Tap Done when finished to return to the messages screen

You can access this voice audio message player with any audio message on the iPhone or iPad, just remember to long-press (past the Tapback feature which initially appears).

Voice audio messages are pretty great, especially if you’re driving or have your hands busy, or simply want to have a bit more of a personal conversation with someone that does not depend on texts alone. In a way, they’re a cross between a phone call and text messaging, and if you’re not using them, they’re worth trying out!

It can be incredibly confusing to find where your audio files have been saved. If you have an iMessage audio file, by default, it expires in a couple of minutes unless you specify otherwise. 

Similarly, you can find a WhatsApp audio message in the app itself. All voicemails or voice memos are saved in the voice memo app. If you receive an mp3 file, it'll be stored in the related folder, i.e., the Music folder.

Since I switched from my Oneplus 6T Android phone to an iPhone 13, I didn’t realize that the iMessage audio messages have an expiry date. When I wanted to go back and listen to an audio message, it went missing. That's when I immediately set the Expire option to Never and made sure I saved audio messages that were important.

Read on to understand where the different audio files are saved in an iPhone and how to locate them.

• Where Do Voice Messages From An iMessage App Get Saved On Your iPhone?
• Method 1: Storing It In The Messaging App
• 1. Using The Keep Option
• 2. By Setting The Expire Option To Never
• Method 2: Manually Save The Audio Message
• 1. Using The Save Option
• 2. By Copying and Pasting The Audio File
• Method 3: Export The Voice Message
• Where Do WhatsApp Voice Messages Get Saved On Your iPhone?
• 1. Save A WhatsApp Voice Message
• 2. Copy and Paste The Audio Message
• 3. Export WhatsApp Audio Message
• Where Do Voicemails Get Saved On Your iPhone?
• Locating An Audio File On Your iPhone
• What If You Deleted An Audio Message By Mistake On Your iPhone?
• Conclusion

Where Do Voice Messages From An iMessage App Get Saved On Your iPhone?

The default setting on iOS devices doesn't save voice messages. In fact, they expire in 2 minutes. However, you don't have to worry, as you can actually choose to change the default setting and save your audio message.

Method 1: Storing It In The Messaging App

If you're okay with saving audio messages in the messaging app itself, you can use this method. Otherwise, go to Method 2. Note that voice messages saved via this method exist only as long as your message thread exists. For instance, if you delete a message thread with someone, the audio files will be deleted along with the other messages.

So, you can save audio messages either by tapping Keep or by modifying the settings.

1. Using The Keep Option

You can use this method if you only want to save selected audio messages and are okay with the rest expiring. Otherwise, follow the next method to modify the audio settings.

1. When you receive voice messages in iMessage, you can see the Keep option right below the audio message.
2. Tap on Keep to not let the voice messages expire.
3. Once you tap Keep, you can see that the Keep option changes to Kept along with the date. To locate the audio file, you can come back to this particular thread. 

2. By Setting The Expire Option To Never

If you don't want any of your audio messages expiring in 2 minutes, it can be annoying to press the Keep option each time. In case you want to save all your audio messages without having to press Keep every time, you can use this method and change the audio settings to save the audio file directly. You’ll now have these messages saved in the app as long as you don’t delete the conversation.

1. Open the Settings application on your iPhone.
2. Go to Messages.
3. Scroll down to the AUDIO MESSAGES section. You can find the Expire option now.
4. You'll see that it has been set to After 2 minutes, by default. You can click Never.

Method 2: Manually Save The Audio Message

You can also manually save your audio messages. If you have an iPhone with iOS 12 or iOS prior to it, you can manually save the audio messages on an iPhone using the Save option. iPhone users with updates after iOS 12 can copy and paste the audio message, or export it.

1. Using The Save Option

This is a simple step to save your audio message. However, this method doesn't work on the newer versions of the iPhones i.e., updates after iOS 12. Although the Save option is present in the updates after iOS 12, it's useless as it doesn't actually save the message in the Voice Memo app or anywhere, for that matter.

1. You simply long-press on any particular audio message.
2. Tap on the Save option.
3. This will automatically save your audio messages in the Voice Memo app.

2. By Copying and Pasting The Audio File

1. Tap and hold on any audio message.
2. Click on the Copy option.
3. Go to the Files app on your iPhone device and navigate to the folder where you want to save audio messages.
4. In that folder, tap and hold anywhere on the empty space and select the Paste option.

Method 3: Export The Voice Message

Another option to save audio messages is by exporting the message by sending it to yourself or someone else.

1. Press and hold on any audio message.
2. Click More.
3. Now, tap on the arrow icon or the paper plane icon. It would open a new message.
4. You can now type in a number to send it to someone else or you can type in a mail ID to mail it to someone or yourself.

Where Do WhatsApp Voice Messages Get Saved On Your iPhone?

WhatsApp's audio messages don't expire like the iMessage audio messages. By default, the WhatsApp audio message file is stored within the app itself. You can find the particular audio message by searching for it in the right WhatsApp conversation thread.

Since the saved audio messages are in the app, the audio files will be gone if you delete the app data or uninstall the app. To avoid this, you could export the audio files or save them to your iPhone. Follow the steps below to do that:

1. Press and hold on any audio message file that you want to save.
2. You can see a pop up menu. Tap on the Forward option.
3. After that, click on the Share button found at the bottom-right corner of your screen.
4. Now, follow the steps from one of the three methods below based on how you want to save your WhatsApp audio message.

1. Save A WhatsApp Voice Message

1. Choose the Save to Files option on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to the location where you want to save audio messages.
3. Now, click Save on the top right corner of your screen.

2. Copy and Paste The Audio Message

1. Choose the Copy option on your iPhone.
2. Go to Files on your iPhone and to the folder to save your iPhone audio messages there.
3. Long tap on an empty space and click Paste.

3. Export WhatsApp Audio Message

1. You can see a list of apps listed, and choose where you want to export it. For instance, if you want to mail it to yourself, click on Mail and enter your email ID.

Where Do Voicemails Get Saved On Your iPhone?

Voicemails are saved in the Voice Memo app on your iPhone. You can just open the Voice Memos app to search for the voicemail you want. This is again stored within the app. You can also store them in your desired folder or export them by sending them to another app.

1. Go to the Phone app.
2. Select the Voicemail tab.
3. Tap on the voicemail you want to save.
4. Click the Share icon.
5. If you click Notes, you can add the voicemail to your Notes app. If you select Save, you can save it to your iPhone as a voice memo. Select an appropriate option.

Related Reading

• Voicemail Not Available on iPhone? Here's the Real Fix

Locating An Audio File On Your iPhone

If the audio file is stored within the app, you can use the steps below to locate the saved audio messages.

1. Open the app from where you received the voice message. For instance, if you want to listen to an audio file that you received on WhatsApp, open Whatsapp.
2. Go to the conversation thread you received it in.
3. Search for the voice message or audio file in that conversation.

If you've manually saved it, you can navigate to Files and to the folder you saved the file to listen to.

What If You Deleted An Audio Message By Mistake On Your iPhone?

Audio messages from iMessage that have expired can't be retrieved. However, if you chose to save your audio file and deleted it by mistake, you can retrieve the audio messages on your iPhone quickly using your iCloud account. This method can be used provided you've backed up your iPhone to your iCloud account. Here's how you retrieve your iPhone audio messages:

1. Go to the iCloud app and log in with your credentials.
2. Now, select the iCloud Drive.
3. Tap on Account Settings right below your profile.
4. Go to the Advanced section and select Restore files.

Conclusion

Struggling to find your audio files in iPhones like many users? Each audio file is stored based on the app. For example, iMessage audio files on your iPhone will be saved on the iMessage app, provided you’ve chosen to keep the iMessage audio messages as they expire in 2 minutes otherwise.

You can also manually save them in a particular folder of your choice or export them by sending them elsewhere. This guide can help you locate your audio message files, save them, or export them quickly with ease on iPhones.

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